The Sack Of Delhi and the Fall of the Mughal Empire

The drains ran red with blood

(Public domain)

The Mughal Empire reached its largest size in 1690. The empire, encompassing the vast majority of the Indian subcontinent, was one of the most affluent and opulent in history. For generations, the Mughals set themselves up as benevolent rulers of the local Hindu population. There were large stretches of peace and prosperity that made the Mughal rulers the richest of the age. (Indeed, our word mogul is derived from the word Mughal.)

But less than fifty years later, all of that would be a fond and fading memory. The empire came under significant strain in 1707 with the death of the emperor Aurangzeb. Aurangzeb was the last of the strong and effective Mughal rulers. He was also violent and bigoted. While Aurangzeb oversaw some of the largest territorial gains in Mughal history, he also sowed the seeds of dissent, rebellion, and chaos that would sprout and grow into one of the worst massacres of the era.

After 1707, the Mughal Empire began to fall into disarray as local leaders set themselves up as independent kings, and banditry began to ravage the countryside. The peace and stability that had long been a well that the Mughals drew from was gone.

At the same time, a fearsome leader by the name of Nader Shah was on the rise in the…